1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optical disk recording apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for recording desired information on a magneto-optical disk by the use of a modulated magnetic field whose polarity is changed in accordance with the information to be recorded.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional magneto-optical disk recording apparatus known heretofore, it is customary that a light beam emitted from a laser light source is irradiated intermittently on a recording film of a magneto-optical disk and a magnetic head is driven while being supplied with a modulated signal based on the information to be recorded. The temperature of the recording film on the magneto-optical disk is locally raised by the application of a modulated magnetic field, whose polarity is inverted in conformity with the information, sent from the magnetic head to the recording film on the magneto-optical disk, so that the perpendicular magnetized film is oriented by the polarity of the modulated magnetic field of the magnetic head and the information is recorded on the magneto-optical disk.
In a magneto-optical disk recording apparatus 1, a magneto-optical disk 2 is placed on a tray 3 as shown in FIG. 1. The tray 3 is movable between one position outside of an opening in an unshown apparatus case, i.e. a position where a magneto-optical disk is replaceable, and another position inside of the opening in the apparatus case 1, i.e. a position where a recording or reproducing operation is performed on the magneto-optical disk by an optical head and a magnetic head which will be described later. The tray 3 is moved as indicated by an arrow a so that the magneto-optical disk 2 can be loaded in or ejected from the apparatus body.
An optical head 4 and a magnetic head 5 are held by a holding member 6 in such a manner as to be retained opposite to each other with the magneto-optical disk 2 interposed therebetween.
The holding member 6 is movable in the radial direction of the magneto-optical disk 2 as indicated by an arrow b, and both the optical head 4 and the magnetic head 5 are shifted to a desired recording track on the magneto-optical disk when the holding member 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow b by unshown shifting means.
The magnetic head 5 used in such magneto-optical disk recording/reproducing apparatus comprises a sectionally E-shaped cylindrical core 8 and a coil 9 wound around a center core element 8A of the core 8 with a predetermined number of turns, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
Therefore, when a driving current is fed to the coil 9 in accordance with the information to be recorded, a modulated magnetic field symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the center core element 8A is generated between the center core element 8A and a side core element 8B. The desired information can be recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2, or more specifically in the recording film on the disk 2, with application of such modulated magnetic field thereto by the magnetic head 5 simultaneously with irradiation of the light beam produced by the optical head 4 from the reverse side with respect to the magnetic field.
If the magneto-optical disk recording apparatus of the type mentioned is dimensionally reduced to realize a compact structure adapted to be easily carried, great convenience will be attained by connecting such small-sized magneto-optical disk recording apparatus to any of various information processors in compliance with individual requirements.
For achieving such purpose, however, it is necessary to simplify the mechanism for moving the tray 3 and so forth to realize a more compact structure for the magneto-optical disk recording apparatus as a whole.